IRELAND COACH JOE SCHMIDT has another injury to a senior player to worry about before a ball was even passed in this evening’s interprovincial clash with Connacht.
Sean O’Brien was pulled from the Leinster line-up after failing to recover from an injury picked up from rolling his ankle. The flanker was replaced in the Blues line-up by Shane Jennings.
It is likely that O’Brien will not feature in next weekend’s Pro12 clash with Newport Gwent Dragons but Leinster are confident he will be fit for Ireland’s November Series. Schmidt will be hopeful that the province’s optimistic diagnosis is proved accurate as O’Brien has been in excellent form thus far this season.
O’Brien’s late withdrawal is similar to events in Scotland last night as Munster were forced to strike Keith Earls and Paul O’Connell off the teamsheet for their game with Glasgow Warriors. O’Connell’s injury was confirmed as a calf strain while Earls was hobbled by a knee tendon issue.
Ireland hooker Rory Best also rolled his ankle last night and was withdrawn after 15 minutes of Ulster’s home win over Cardiff Blues. Ulster coach Mark Anscombe feels Best should be fit in time for the November series of Tests against Samoa, Australia and New Zealand.
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